“Winter without gas”. Russia sees no reason to resume deliveries to a “non-hostile country”

There is no reason to maintain gas supplies to “unfriendly” Bulgaria, Sofia “desperately tried” the winter without receiving blue fuel from the Russian Federation. With such a statement spoke Russian Senator Alexei Pushkov. Bulgarian Government Energy Minister Rosen Hristov previously declarationHe reported that the Cabinet is considering the possibility of resuming gas supplies from Gazprom.

“I think Bulgaria should be given the opportunity to do what it so desires – to spend the winter without Russian gas.

It is not entirely clear for what reason gas supplies to an actively “non-hostile”, that is, hostile state, should continue, especially since he himself refused them, ”Wrote Pushkov. telegram channel.

Recall that since April 27, Gazprom has suspended deliveries to the Bulgarian company Bulgargaz due to the refusal to make payments under the new program, as requested by Moscow after switching to settlements in the Russian national currency with “unfriendly countries”. To do this, buyers need to open foreign currency and ruble accounts at Gazprombank: the first receives payment in foreign currency, the bank sells it on the Moscow Stock Exchange and deposits the money in the second account – this amount is received by Gazprom.

Later, in Bulgaria, they did not take seriously the statements of the Russian side about the changes in the payment plan, which occurred on the background of anti-Russian sanctions. And the director of the Bulgargaz company, Lyudmil Yotsov, often took a letter from the Gazprom-export company about the payment of Russian gas in rubles as a joke. According to TASS, Yotsov acknowledged this Tuesday at a meeting of the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (KEVR).

“We believed until the last moment that our gas supply would not be stopped because we paid the price. [в долларах] April 26. “We thought the whole thing was a joke,” said Yotsov.

In early August, Bulgargaz chairman of the board, Ivan Topchiisky, said that the company continues to negotiate with Gazprom, but has set a condition for changing the details of the contract. He added that we are talking about an agreement signed before the end of 2022, but hypothetically Gazprom could change its terms. According to him, there is a possibility of resumption of Russian gas supply.

as he wrote media pool“Many are waiting for the resumption of negotiations with Gazprom by the Bulgarian technical government.”

“We are a technocrat government, we are considering all options, including the resumption of supplies from Gazprom. “We are considering alternative suppliers first, but if it turns out that they are not enough, I will not be the minister to freeze people in the winter,” he said. bTV.

Bulgaria entered the list of “unfriendly states” in early March, when the Russian government approved the corresponding list of countries that “have engaged in unfriendly acts against Russia.” It includes 48 states.

On August 8, Moscow declared 14 employees of the Bulgarian embassy and consular services “inadmissible” and persona non grata. The corresponding note of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs was received by the head of the Bulgarian diplomatic mission, Atanas Krystin.

Later, the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, their Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg, as well as four diplomats and 10 technical staff from the Bulgarian Industrial Center in Moscow. They must leave the country within 120 hours.

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that this was a response to Sofia’s decision to dismiss 70 employees in Russian institutions, to introduce quotas for Russian diplomatic, administrative and technical personnel in Bulgaria, and to temporarily close the Russian Consulate General.